Are you interested in getting your child to learn how to read via phonics? Teaching phonics is one way to introduce your preschooler to the world of learning. Here are some of the best practices to teach your child phonics:
#1. Reading
One of the best ways to introduce any type of phonics or sounds to your child is to read to them. On a daily basis, make sure you’re reading to your preschooler. They need to have a good handle on what reading is and what it’s for.
#2. Alphabet Sounds
The beginning of teaching phonics to your preschooler involves teaching basic alphabet sounds to them. You can do this by watching videos on YouTube or going through the sounds on a daily basis together. The key to doing this is to do it every day and make sure repetition is a part of your phonics learning lifestyle.
#3. Long Vowels
Part of learning to read is understanding the role of long vowels. Teaching your preschooler how each of these vowel sound work is important. Here is an example of each vowel.
Long
- /a/ as in ate
- /e/ as in greed
- /i/ as in twice
- /o/ as in poke
- /u/ as in glue
Teaching your child to recognize the letter and how it sounds is really important. Long vowels are not an everyday occurrence in reading, so it really is about recognition and sounding the vowels out.
#4. Difference Between Consonants and Vowels
There is an important difference between consonants and vowels. Teaching phonics to your preschool will include noting the difference between such. There are 21 letters in the alphabet that are consonants and only 5 that are vowels. Make sure your child knows the difference between long vowel sounds and short vowel sounds. There are even sounds known as dipthongs that you can teach your preschooler to be aware of. Here is an example of how short vowel sounds compare against long vowel sounds.
Short
- /a/ as in chat
- /e/ as in let
- /i/ as in bit
- /o/ as in trot
- /u/ as in but
Other activity ideas:
Teaching a child to read through phonics isn’t a piece of cake. There are several other things you can do to make sure your child stays on the right learning path.
Try the following activities to assist you in phonics help:
The big secret to phonics is repetition and spending time working on it every day. Using the above tips, your preschooler can learn the basics of phonics before they even head to kindergarten. Keep in mind that not all elementary schools teach phonics as a way to read now, so your child may need to transition whenever they move on up to kindergarten.
Do you have any experience in teaching your child how to read via phonics? Feel free to add any tips you have because I’d love to hear them.